re: Apple uses Google's cloud for icloudPosted by TigerinATL on 2/26/18 at 2:03 pm to CAD703X

quote:this isn't the business Apple is in

It's not. Now that in and of itself is a sad statement, but this news is not at all surprising.

quote:Apple is too tiny of a company to try and build their own cloud platform, right?

All of the big tech companies have enough resources to throw at problems that they should all be much better at many things than they are. Unfortunately cash hordes and even armies of employees can't solve problems on their own.

re: Apple uses Google's cloud for icloudPosted by TigerinATL on 2/26/18 at 3:00 pm to TigerGman

Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook all are serving customers cloud based software and services at a scale that they've found it beneficial to build their own infrastructure. The fact that Apple hasn't reached the same place with the size of their customer base suggests they're doing it wrong.

Sure they're making tons of money with the app store and music, but it just seems like they could be doing more. Imagine if they had bought Instagram instead of Facebook. I've always thought iMessage was being underutilized by keeping it locked into iOS. There just seems to be a lot of missed opportunities for them on the services side of things and that's why they're still renting instead of owning.

re: Apple uses Google's cloud for icloudPosted by BhamDore on 2/26/18 at 4:50 pm to 50_Tiger

quote:You think a large majority of tech companies do everything in-house end

Apple isn't just the majority of tech companies.

It's pretty obvious there are a handful of companies that are vying to own the future.

Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon etc are fighting to own the future.

Apple has not invested properly to sustain dominance. Apple is a couple shitty iPhone cycles from crashing as a company. They have not diversified enough. Way too much of their revenue and profit depends on the iPhone.

They have not invested enough in AI or cloud services.

They have not been a leader or innovator in the field in a decade. They usually enter a new market late and improve on competitors product and repackage it with brand loyalty that is unmatched.

They have even struggled to do that. Their Apple Home Pod is an embarrassment. Amazon and Google were first to market, normally Apple would come out with great product a year or two later.

Apple has been going down hill ever since they passed ExxonMobil and became the world's most valuable company.

It's been all about profit margin ever since. No innovation and lack of proper investment. They have just been hoarding cash.

re: Apple uses Google's cloud for icloudPosted by SG_Geaux on 2/26/18 at 9:42 pm to BhamDore

quote:They have not invested enough in AI or cloud services.

I hate Apple, but Apple is not really a service company. They are a device company. A tech gadget company. That is what they have always been. It may well bite them in the arse in the long run, but there will always be a need for the devices and gadgets to access the services. They know making tech gadgets and marketing the frick out of them to the masses. They don't know cloud services.

I stand corrected there, but at the same time, their services are there for their devices. Unless Apple does a massive shift in the way they do business, one can't exist without the other.

If they aren't interested in cloud services, and so far it doesn't appear that they are, then it makes perfect sense for them to use Google, AWS, Azure, etc... rather than build out that massive infrastructure themselves. I realize they have the cash to do it if they really wanted to, but doesn't seem to be any point in it.

quote:I stand corrected there, but at the same time, their services are there for their devices.

Tim Cook announced there were over 1 billion iOS devices in use in Jan 2016. I don't think they've updated the count since then.

quote:Unless Apple does a massive shift in the way they do business, one can't exist without the other.

They consider that an advantage, and it's been a growing investor theme the last couple of years. It's all about the stickiness of the platform and the willingness of its users to spend money, ensuring a growing recurring revenue stream at great margins. Apple has really beaten the odds with iOS and its devices.

quote:If they aren't interested in cloud services, and so far it doesn't appear that they are, then it makes perfect sense for them to use Google, AWS, Azure, etc... rather than build out that massive infrastructure themselves. I realize they have the cash to do it if they really wanted to, but doesn't seem to be any point in it.

Sounds like they are, but their capacity isn't near enough as it stands. They're building data centers all over the world.